Typewriting machine



Dec. 17, 1940. w. F. HELMOND TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 ATTORNEY.

Dec. 17, 1940. w. F. HELMOND 2,225,449

- TYPEWRITING MACHINE Filed Deo. 50, 19558 4 Shees-SheerI 2 ATTORNEY.

Dec. 17, 1940. w. F. HELMOND 2,225,449

TYPEWRITING MACHINE ATTORNEY.

Dec. 17', 1940.. 4w. F. HELMOND 2,225,449

TYPEWRITTNG MACHINE Filed Dec. 30, 1938 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 17, 1940 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE TYPEWRITIN G MACHINE `William F. Helmond, West Hartford, Conn., as-

signor to Underwood Elliott Fisher Company, New York, N. Y., a corporation of Delaware Application December 30, 1938, Serial No. 248,502

9 Claims.

This invention relates to typewriting machines and with regard to certain more specific features thereof to tabulating mechanism and ymore particularly denominational tabulator mechanism.

The invention, in certain respects, may be embodied in a manually operated device. In other respects the invention is especially suited to completion of the operations from a source of electric or other power after the cycle has been initiated by manual operation of a key.

The present invention is in the nature of an improvement on the one shown and described in my copending application Serial No. 248,503, led December 30, 1938, and it has 'for one of its objects the further simplicaton of the mechanism therein shown.

A general object of the invention is to employ a power agency to set a selected stop in position to arrest a typewriter carriage, upon the selection of the stop by a light touch upon a key. The power is also employed to release the carriage from its escapement control and to apply and hold a brake upon the carriage movement. Upon completion of the carriage movement to stop position the majority of theparts of the mechanism are automatically restored to normal position. These functions broadly are accomplished by the device shown and described in my said copending application but in the present mechanism the devices by which denominational selection and primary -setting of the parts is effected are much simpler, less expensive tomanufacture, and the power is immediately disconf nected upon release of the key without waiting for the completion of the tabulating operation.

Although in the specic embodiment of the invention herein shown and described an intermittently energized motor is used, it will be obvious that the invention is as well suited to a continuously running motor.

In the drawings' Fig. 1 is a View in perspective of a'denomina- `tional tabulator mechanism` embodying -the present improvements.

Fig. 2 is a view in fore-andnaft cross section of the mechanism shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view of the tabulator magazine and related parts as viewed from the front of the machine.

Fig. 4 is a view of the clutch mechanism with the clutch open.

Fig. 5 is a View of the clutchmechanism with the clutch closed.

Fig. 6 is a diagrammatic view showing the positions assumed by the parts upon depression ings, a typewriter frame (Cl. 197-17S) of a key and before the effective.

Fig. 7 is a View similar to Fig. 6 showing the parts in the positions which they assume after the power has been applied and before the carriage has banked against the set stop.

Fig. 8 is a view similar to Figs. 6 and 7 showing the positions assumed by the parts during the banking operation and just prior to the return of the parts under their iniluencing springs.

Fig. 9 is a fragmentary View showing the brake assembly.

Fig. 10 is a detail of the rocker upon which the brake shoe is mounted.

Referring now more particularly to the drawis indicated generally at 20. At the rear of the frame a magazine or tabulator frame 2| is suitably secured. The magazine is desirably a casting supplemented by a plate 22 at the top having slots 23 for slidably receiving the upper ends of tabulator stop reeds or blades 24.

'I'he magazine 2| has a lower transverse web 25, a middle transverse web 26 and an attached comb plate 21 above the web 26 which is angle shaped and provided with opposite side ears 28 which support a pin 30. Web 25 is comb slotted as indicated `at 3| and web 26 is comb slotted as indicated at 32 for purposes of guiding certain of the parts, as will more particularly herein--V after appear. v

One of a series of demonminational tabulator key levers is indicated at 33 pivoted at 34 on a bracket 35 secured to the frame of the machine. The forward ends of the key levers are guided in a comb plate 31 and are provided with keys 38. The rear ends of the key levers are rounded as indicated at 40 to engage half round recesses in links 4| respectively. At the union of the lever ends with the links 4|, the parts are slidably confined by the web 25 in the slots 3|. The links 4I are slotted as shown at 42, and a pin 43 is passed transversely through the magazine to align and guide the links 4| and limit their movements. The upper ends of links 4| are rounded and abutted with the lower rounded ends of pawls 44, the abutment between the links and pawls being within the slots 32 of transverse web 26 of the magazine. This web is also comb slotted at its rear to align and guide the stop blades 24 near their lower ends and each stop blade has just above this transverse power has been rendered web a forwardly extending arm 45 having a pin and-slot connection, as indicated at 46, with each of the pawls 44 respectively.

springs 4l connected to forwardly extending arms 4S of the pawls and having their other ends f anchored to the magazine at 5l), the tendency of the springs being to throw forwardly noses 5| at the upper ends of the pawls. Normally this movement is prevented by the pin 30, and the noses 5| are behind a flange 520i a rocker assembly 53 which includes shaft 54 journaled in ears 55 on the magazine 2l. The rocker as.

sembly also includes a body 55 fixed to shaft 54 at 51 and bifurcated to receive 'a braking member 58 having a forwardly turned ange lill, the main portion of which underlies body 56 and is articulated therewith by a screw. 5| passing through a slot E2 in memberE and. threading into the underlying flange 55 of the brakemember. A coil spring 63 is interposed between the head of screw 5| and the upper surface of body 55 tending to yieldingly hold the brake member mounted upon the rocker assembly. The brake member 53 has a friction shoe or pad 64 adapted to contact a brake bar 55 xed by brackets 56 to `a traveling paper carriage indicated at 6l'. This carriage is .controlled by escapement mechanism indicated generally at t3 and a spring drum indicated at 'lll 'which actuates the carriage in its letterespacing and tabulating movements. A conventional platen is indicated at 'll in Fig. 2.

At the end of shaft 54 an arm i2 is keyed to lius function as part of the rocker assembly. At the rear of the arm l2 a strap`13 is securedwhich leads to a drum 14 mounted on a shaft "l5 for transient rotation therewith by clutch means vand `operating mechanism more fully hereinafter dcscribed. f

Arm i2 overlies an upturned end of a lever 'I which is pivoted to the frame at 11 and has a forward end carrying a roller 'i3 which underlies a carriage letter-spacing rack 83 pivoted on the carriage at 8| and urged intol engagement with a pinion 82 of the escapement mechanism 68 by a spring S3.

When any one of the denominational tabulator keys 38 is depressed the rear end of its lever 33 will be raised, thus lifting link 4| and consequently lifting the abutting pawl 44. The extent of lift of link 4| is limited by the bottoming of the lever 35 in comb plate S'I'and the lift takes up substantially the lost motion provided by pinand-slot connection 45. Each pawl is recessed at 34 and as a particular pawl is elevated it passes pin 35 until nose 5| escapes the rear edge of flange 52 of the rocker assembly and projects forwardly over the flange, influenced by spring 4l. This serves to couple the pawl with the rocker assembly so that when the latter is rocked by application of the power, pawl 44 is further lifted and, by reason of pin-and-slot connection 4, carries with it the associated stop blade 24 thus lifting the upper end of the blade beyond plate 22 into the path of travel of any depressed .stop of a series of stops 85 on the carriage. As the rocker assembly is moved by the power, arm12 swing downwardly until a pin 85 lon the arm passes below a shoulder 8l o n a latch 38 pivoted at 95 on the rack. The latch influenced by spring 9| moves over pin 8B and holds the rocker temporarily in the position to which it has been moved by the power. Thus stop blade 24 is held lifted in stop position against the action of a return spring 89 anchored on the frame.

Each link 4| has a shoulder 92 near its low extremity and the shoulders underlie a crossbar B3 of a bail B4, pivoted at 55 on the magazine 2|. A torsion spring 96 having one end around the forward arm of bail 94 and its other end reacting against the magazine urges the bail downwardly and serves as a return spring for any elevated link 4| and accordingly any depressed lever 33, upon release of the key. An upper arm 91 of bail 94 engages a yoke 98 of a clutch operating element |00 pivoted on the magazine and including a fork |0| positioned between flanges |02 and |53 (see Figs. 4 and 5) of a clutch element ||l4 slidably mounted on shaft 15 by pins |05 extending from a collar |05 iixed on the shaft 15.

As any link 4| is raised, bail 94 moves clutch part |04 axially to bring clutch teeth |01 into position to engage with clutch teeth |08 of a complemental clutch part H0. This clutch part is normally rotatively loose upon the shaft 'l5 and includes asleeve having a ange |12 upon which are formed the engaging teeth lill). The opposite end of sleeve I|| is threaded as indicated at ||3 and has threaded thereon a cup ||4 and a lock nut H5. Within the cup there is disposed a coil spring IIE, bearing against a disk ||1 loose on the sleeve, and reacting on the end wall of the cup. Thus adjustment of the cup along the threads of the sleeve increases or decreases the pressure applied on disk H1. A drum |8 is mounted loosely upon the sleeve i but is held against axial movement by a member |20 introduced between flanges |2| and |22 of the drum. The member |23 is secured to the magazine. Friction plates |23 and |24 are disposed loosely on the sleeve outside the flanges |2| and |22 and between Ithese anges and the flange ||2 of the sleeve and the disk l1 respectively so that when the clutch parts are engaged by movement of clutch part |64 axially, the drum IIS is frictionally rotated from shaft 'l5 to wind strap 13 and to move the rocker assembly 53 until brake member 58 engages the bar 65 and presses it against a friction pad |25 on a front face of the magazine. As the pressure increases on the rocker 53 and is resisted by engagement of the brake, spring 63 is compressed, parts 56 and 60 are separated slightly as seen in Fig. 7 of the drawings, and thus the compression of the coil spring 63 is effective to maintain a braking friction of the shoe 64 upon bar 65.

Pin 30 limits the upward movement of any of the pawls and when this limit of movement is reached sleeve of clutch part l0 will continue to move and slip rotatively in drum 'i4 which is now held against rotation.

By the mechanism so far described the tabulating operation is initiated. A stop is set in the path of the carriage, the escapement is released by lifting the rack 85, the carriage is moved by the spring drum 'l0 and retarded in its movement by the brake shoe 64. Also the parts have been latched in their operated positions by the latch B3.

The carriage is provided with end bracket members |30 and I3| as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. A tabulator rack bar |32 is mounted on these end brackets by stud screw and slot connections shown at |33 and |34. The tabulator rack bar |32 is tubular and rectangular in cross section. It mounts the depressible carriage stops 35 and normally this rack bar occupies a. position to the left of that shown in Fig. 3, in which the right ends of the slots are against the screws of the connections |33 and |34 being thus held by a spring |35. In Fig. 3, however, a banking action has taken place, that is, a depressed stop 85 has encountered an elevated stop blade 24 and the carriage has continued to travel a short distance while the rack bar |32 has been held. At the rear of the channel bar |32 a latch-release-plate |36 is loosely mounted by stud screws |31 passing through inclined slots |38 in the latch-release bar. Pins |40 and |4| on the carriage end brackets |30 and |3| respectively project opposite the ends of latch-release bar |36 thus preventing any relative longitudinal movement of the latch-release bar and the carriage. Thus when banking takes place and the carriage proceeds beyond the rack bar, studs |31 acting on the edges of slots |38 cam the bar downwardly into `the position shown in Fig. 3 where it is effective on pivoted latch member 88 to disengage shoulder 81 from pin 86 on arm 12 of the rocker assembly.

Inasmuch as by the present mechanism it is unnecessary to hold the key lever 33 depressed after the parts have been conditioned for and actuated by the power operation, the usual practice will be to simply lightly tap the key 38 and release it at once after such power operation, in which case link 4| is immediately dropped back to its normal position allowing bail 94 to resume its normal position under the inuence of spring 96 and immediately the clutch connection |04 and ||0 is broken. Power from the electric motor is no longer needed as the parts have been latched in their operated positions and the work has been transferred to the carriage-spring-drum 10. If the key is operated in this manner the banking of the carriage, releasing the latch, will allow all the other parts to be restored to normal. However, if the key has been held depressed until after the end of the banking operation, the latch 88 will nevertheless be released in the same manner and held released until release of the key permits restoration of all the parts.

Rocker 53 is pulled downward at its forward end by the return spring 41 of pawl 44 and in the final stage of the downward movement of this pawl the cam face provided by recess 84 cams the pawl nose 5| rearwardly to break its overhanging relation with the flange 52 of the rocker.

As in the case of the invention shown and disclosed in the copending application above referred to, an electric motor, here indicated at |50, may be continuously energized to drive the clutch shaft or intermittently energized upon the selection of any denominational tabulator stop. If it is desired to intermittently energize the motor, cross bar 93 is provided with a lip |5| overhanging the end of a contact arm |52 so that as any key is depressed and cross arm 93 is raised the circuit will be closed through I53-|54.

In the preferred form of the invention above described and shown in the accompanying drawings, the invention is shown as applied to a. typewriter of the standard or impact form. Obviously, however, the invention in its broader aspects may be applied to a typewriter in which the type action operates on the pressure principle and in which typewriters it is customary in manual tabulating to release an escapement dog rather than elevate a letter-space rack and in which friction braking of the carriage-tabulating movement does not usually involve the long brake bar used in the standard typewriters.

pawl, an operating key-lever for each of the pawls of said denominational tabulator stops, links articulated respectively with the key levers and slidably mounted in the frame underlying the said pawls, a pivoted universal clutch-operating member spring-pressed normally to clutch-opening position and adapted to be operated by a selected key-lever to close the clutch, a rocker normally out of the path of the pawls and adapted to be rocked by the drive shaft when the clutch is closed, means on the rocker for engaging a pawl when the latter is operated by a key lever and for moving said pawl to move its associated tabulator stop to operative position, and means for holding the rocker against return until the completion of the tabulating movement but permitting prior opening of the clutch.

2. Power tabulatng mechanism comprising a frame, a carriage releasable for resulting tabulating movement, a stop on the frame projectible to carriage-arresting position, a drive shaft, an actuator for projecting said stop, a connection, including a closeable clutch, for moving said actuator by said shaft from a normal position to a stop-projecting position, a tabulating key, means operatively connecting said stop to said actuator in response to operation of said key, means controlled by operation and return of said key to close Iand reopen said clutch, the moved actuator and the thereby projected stop tending to return to said normal position if said clutch is reopened, means for holding said actuator is moved position irrespective of release of said key and reopening of said clutch before encounter of said carriage with said stop, carriage-releasing means operable in conjunction with the projecting of said stop being provided, and means responsive to said encounter to release said actuator from said holding means for consequent restoration of said actuator and stop.

3. Power tabulating mechanism comprising a frame, a carriage releasable for resulting tabulating movement, a stop on the frame projectible to carriage-arresting position, a drive shaft, an actuator for projecting said stop, a connection, including a closeable clutch, for moving said actuator by said shaft from a normal position to a stop-projecting position, a tabulating key, means operatively connecting said stop to said actuator in response to operation of said key, means controlled by operation and return of said key to close and reopen said clutch, the moved actuator and the thereby projected stop tending to return to said normal position if said clutch is reopened, means for holding said actuator in moved position irrespective of release of said key and reopening of said clutch before encounter of said carriage with said stop, carriage-releasing means operable in conjunction with the projecting of said stop being provided, and means responsive to said encounter to release said actuator from said holding means for consequent restoration of said actuator and stop, said connection including a slip-friction device providing for overrunning of the drive shaft when the actuator has been moved to stop-projecting position.

'4. Power tabulating mechanism comprising a carriage releasable for resulting tabulating movement, a frame having a stop projectible to carriage-arresting position, a motor, a rocker for projecting said stop, a tabulating key, a pawl moved in response to operation of said key to connect said stop and rocker, means, including a clutch held normally open by a spring and closeable by said key operation, for moving the rocker by said motorto project said stop,`said clutch reopening iny response tol return of said key and, saidy rocker and stop tending to return in. response vto reopening ofl said clutch, means for holding said rocker in moved position irrespective of return of said key and the reopening of said clutch, before encounter of the carriage with said-stop, carriage releasing means operable in conjunction with the projecting of said stop being provi-ded, and means responsive to said encounter to-vdisengage said rocker from said holding means for consequent restoration of said rocker and stop.

5. Power tabulating mechanism comprising a carriage releasable forresulting tabulating movement, a frame having a stop projectible to car- Hage-arresting position, a. motor, a rocker for projecting said stop, a tabulating key, a pawl moved in response to operation of said key to connect said .stop andfrocker, means, including a clutch held normally open by a spring and closeable by saidkey operation, for moving the rocker. by said motor to project said stop, said clutch reopening in responseto return of said key and said rocker and stop tending to return in response 'to reopening-of said clutch, means for* holdingsaid rocker in its stop-projecting position so as to permit return of said key, and

the attendant reopening of said clutch as soon as-'said stop is projected, and means responsive to encounter of said carriage With said stop to release said rocker from -said holding means for consequent restoration of said rocker and stop, carriage-releasing meansv operable in conjunction with-'the projecting of said stopbeing provided.

6; Power tabulating mechanism comprising a carriage -releasable for resulting tabulating movement, a frame having a stop projectible to carriage-arresting position, a motor, a rocker for projecting said stop, a tabulating key, means operatively connecting said stop to said rocker in response to operation of said key, means, including a clutch closeablerby said key operation forgmoving the rocker by the motor to project said stop, said clutch reopening in response to return of said key and4 said rocker andstop tending to return in response to reopening of said clutch, means for holding said rocker in moved positionirrespective of return of said key andtheV reopening of said clutch before the encounter of the carriage with said stop, carriage-releasing means operable in conjunction with the projecting of the stop being provided, a spring-influenced member, for braking the tabulating movement of the carriage, set in operativeposition by the power movement of said rocker and maintainedV under carriage-braking spring `pressure by the holding of said rocker in moved position by said holding means, and means responsive to the encounter of the carriage with the stop to release saidrocker from said holding means for consequent return of said rocker and `stop and release of said braking means.

'71; Power tabulating mechanism comprising a carriage, releasable for resulting tabulating movement, a frame having a plurality of stops projectiblev individually to. carriage-arresting position, a universal stop-projector movable from a normal position to a stop-projecting position, projector-engaging elements mounted respectively on the stops, a motor driven shaft, means, including a normally open clutch, for moving the projector by said motor driven shaft, key-means operable to 'selectively condition said engaging elementsI for movement by said projector, means operable by said key-means to close said clutch so that said shaft moves sai-d projector to move the selected engaging element to project the corresponding stop, said clutch becoming reopened in responsev to return of said key-means and saidfprojector andl stop tending to return in response to the reopening of the clutch, means for latching the projector in the stop-projecting position to which it is moved by said shaft, carriagev releasing means operable in conjunction with projecting said stop, and means operable automatically under control of the carriage', substantially at the end of its tabulating movement, for releasing said projectorfrom said latching means.

8. Power tabulating mechanism comprising a carriage releasable for resulting tabulating movement, a frame having a stop projectible from retracted position to carriage-arresting position, a motor-driven shaft, a key, means responsive to depression of said key to cause said shaft to transmita stop-projecting force to said stop and incidentally to tend to sustain the consequently projected stop by said force only so long as said key is kept depressed, Wherefore said stop tends to return to normal position in response `to return of said key, carriage-releasing means operable in conjunction with the projecting of said stop, and means automatically effective, asidel from said force, for holding the stop in projected position, to thus allow for the immediate release of the key upon initiation of the tabulating movement of the carriage, provision being made Whereby said carriageis effectivel substantially at the end of its tabulating movementk to release said stop from said holding means.

9. Power driven denominational tabulator mechanism comprising, a spring-motored escapement-controlled carriage having'a stop, a motordriven shaft, a clutch spring-pressed to normallyopen position, a frame having a plurality of denominational tabulator-stops and a rocker, rocker-moving means connectible to said shaft by sai-d clutch, each tabulator stop having a springpressed `rocker-engaging member normally held outof spring-urged engagement with the rocker, means controlled by the movement of said rocker to release theY carriage from the escapementcontrol for resulting tabulatingy movement of the carriage, denominational tabulator keys operatively connected `to said rocker-engaging members so that operation of any one of said keys determines engagement of a corresponding member with the rocker, means operable by any one of said keys to close the clutch to enable the shaft and rocker-moving means to move the rocker to project a corresponding tabulator-stop to carriage-arresting. position, a latch springurged into position to hold the rocker in the position .to Which itis moved by the shaft, and a latch-releasing member operative in response to encounter of the carriage with Ithe projected denominational-stop to release said latch, said rocker and the projected stop tending to return upon -said release of the latch, the arrangement being such that said key may be released before said encounter and that said `clutch Will reopen in response to release of said key before said encounter.

WILLIAM F. HELMOND. 

